After Ten Millennia in Hell

People were sitting around a mat covered with all sorts of luxurious foods and drinks. They were glancing nervously at Balrog and Lilith. No, to be more precise, they were warily staring at Balrog, a five-meter-tall giant.

"Fufu, I believe this is my first time officially greeting all of you together. It is very nice to meet you. My name is Lilith. I have supported Master Kang-Woo for a very long time in Hell," Lilith said with a smile on her face and a glass in her hand.

Kim Si-Hun, Cha Yeon-Joo, and Tian Wuchen looked at her in confusion.

"So… you're a demon within the body of Kurosaki Yurie?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"Yes, that is correct."

"Then what happened to Kurosaki Yurie herself?"

"She is… asleep for the moment." Lilith placed her hand on her chest. "She has yet to come back to her senses after having fused with a demon, but we will naturally be able to share a consciousness over time."

"Hmm…"

"A demon and a human sharing a consciousness…" Wuchen mumbled, looking troubled.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for Kurosaki Yurie, whose body had been taken over by a demon, but blaming Lilith didn't seem right.

Not only had she not taken Kurosaki Yurie's body because she wanted to, but they also had nothing to do with each other in the first place. Kurosaki Yurie also hadn't lost her consciousness completely, so although it didn't feel right, he couldn't say anything in protest.

"Then, have you all, just like Kang-Woo…" Gaia asked nervously while turning to Kang-Woo. She was the incarnation of Gaia, so from her perspective, it wasn't easy to accept demons.

Kang-Woo said in a serious voice, "They haven't freed themselves from demonic energy like me, but they will be of help in defeating the Demon of Prophecy."

"I… see."

Gaia nodded in confusion. Kang-Woo, who had abandoned the body of a demon and accepted the energy of the God of Heroes, aside, she wondered if she could really trust pure demons like Balrog and Lilith.

'Maybe Kang-Woo is also being deceived?'

She couldn't help but have such a thought.

[There is no need to worry.]

Gaia heard Balrog's voice.

[I have offered my soul to my king. I am willing to do anything for him.]

He sounded confident.

Gaia could feel his unwavering will. She clenched her skirt and opened her mouth to say, "Do you still swear allegiance to Kang-Woo… even though he's no longer the demon king?"

[Hahaha!]

Balrog laughed.

[He certainly has lost his seat as demon king after losing against Satan, but at least for me, he will always be my king.]

"…"

Gaia remained silent.

Balrog's loyal tone did not seem to be a lie.

Gaia smiled faintly.

"Okay. I will trust you, Balrog."

[Kekeke. You seem rather calm, unlike before when—]

"Kyaa! Sh-Shh! Please be quiet!"

Gaia's face reddened.

Kang-Woo laughed as she became embarrassed. He said to everyone who had gathered around the mat, "I've gathered you all here today to introduce everyone to my two subordinates who had been with me in Hell, as well as to relieve all the fatigue that has accumulated all these months. We haven't been able to have a gathering like this since the establishment of Guardians, come to think of it. Please just think of this as an outing and enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you for arranging a meeting like this, hyung-nim." Si-Hun smiled.

He seemed to be happy about being here with Gaia and Kang-Woo.

Kang-Woo smirked and grabbed his chopsticks.

"Seol-Ah did her best to cook all these, so say thanks to her."

"Wow! As expected from you, sister-in-law! How did you prepare so much food?! It's also to die for…!" Kang Tae-Soo exclaimed.

"Ah, I-I just made them because I wanted to!"

Seol-Ah's face reddened, and a smile blossomed on her face.

Echidna grabbed a kimbap with her chopsticks while sitting on Kang-Woo's lap, which had pretty much become her exclusive seat at this point.

"Kang-Woo, aah."

"Hm?"

The kimbap approached his mouth.

Kang-Woo smirked and opened his mouth. The cheesy taste of the cheese kimbap suited his palate very nicely.

"Is it good?" Echidna asked.

"Yup."

"Hm! Hm!" Echidna snorted as if she were waiting for something.

Kang-Woo grabbed a kimbap and fed her just as she had to him.

"Munch, munch. It's so good. You're the best, Seol-Ah."

"Fufu. You helped out this morning too, Echidna."

"The ones I made exploded," Echidna said while pouting.

Seol-Ah couldn't handle how cute she looked, and took her from Kang-Woo and hugged her.

"KYAA! How can you be so cute?!"

"Seol-Ah, I can't breathe."

Echidna struggled as if she were being suffocated by something big.

They were like sisters, or maybe a mother and a daughter.

"Fufufu, the mood is better than what I had expected."

Lilith approached Kang-Woo with a smile.

Flinch. Kang-Woo trembled a bit. He recalled the trauma from the previous day. Cold sweat dripped down, and his face paled.

"Here you go, Master Kang-Woo. Say aah~"

"A-Aah."

He wasn't sure if he was groaning in fear or accepting the food, but a kimbap entered his mouth. He chewed like a robot.

"Kuh…"

Si-Hun gulped while looking at him in envy.

'Huh, why?'

Did he have feelings for Lilith?

"H-Hyung-nim"

'What?'

"Ahem. I-I'm just doing this to go along with the flow."

'What flow?'

"Say aah."

'The fuck did you say?'

Si-Hun approached him while blushing. He turned his head as if embarrassed and grabbed a kimbap with his chopsticks.

'Don't be getting red on me, dude.'

Kang-Woo's expression paled even more.

"Uhh, I'm getting tired of kimb—"

[Huhu. You seem to have no idea of the king's preferences, human.]

'Stop making shit any more complicated and screw off.'

He felt as if he was about to get gastric reflux as Si-Hun and Balrog joined in after Lilith. He reached out to Seol-Ah, who was hugging Echidna, but it seemed she couldn't see him anymore.

'Darling…'

The distance between Heaven and Hell was but a meter, but Si-Hun and Balrog were grabbing hold of his hands so that he could not get away.

"…What do you mean?" Si-Hun asked.

[I mean exactly what I said. I had heard that you had also sworn allegiance to my king, but… you are still lacking.]

"Nonsense."

"Why are you acting like that, guys? We came here to get along, didn't w—"

[Well, I guess it is a given, considering the difference in time that each of us has served the king. Hahaha! You have not had the time to find out everything there is to know about the king.]

"Hah, you talk as if you know everything about Kang-Woo hyung."

"Excuse me? Can you hear me?"

The atmosphere intensified.

Si-Hun and Balrog were glaring at each other.

Rumble.

Their clashing energies shook the ground, emitting enough power to easily slaughter an average archdemon of the Ninth Hell.

[I will give you a lesson on what kind of food the king likes!]

'But you don't know.'

Balrog used his giant hands to stab something with a chopstick—it was the sashimi set that Yeon-Joo had brought. More specifically, he stabbed the head of a fish that came with the set used to cook spicy fish stew.

[The king enjoys the heads of beings like this!]

'I really don't.'

[See? Look how happy he looks!]

'I'm really not.'

[Hehehe. Please, have a taste, my king.]

'This isn't how this thing is supposed to be eaten, dammit.'

He pushed away the fish head.

A fishy smell spread through their surroundings.

"H-Hyung-nim! Please try this instead!"

[My king!]

"Ah…"

He wished both of them would just fuck off. Kang-Woo covered his face with his hands and buried his head between his knees.

* * *

"K-Kang-Woo…"

Seol-Ah expressed disappointment as she looked at Kang-Woo running from Balrog and Si-Hun.

'I wanted to do it too…'

She twirled the kimbap around with her chopsticks.

Lilith approached her and asked, "Hoho. How did things go yesterday?"

"U-Umm, I haven't…"

"Hmm. You lack courage. I honestly wished for you to succeed."

"…"

Han Seol-Ah remained silent and carefully opened her mouth.

"Uhm… Are you fine with that, Ms. Lilith?"

"I'm sorry? With what?"

"If… umm… things w-work out between me and Kang-Woo, you would be…"

She couldn't easily express herself.

Lilith giggled.

"I do not mind."

"Pardon?"

"A king is supposed to have multiple lovers."

"…"

It was a way of thinking that she couldn't easily accept as someone born and raised in Korea.

"Fufu, I was just joking."

"Oh… R-Right?"

"Yes. I will be honest with you." Lilith smiled bitterly while looking up at the blue sky. "I think it would be great if anyone could comfort the king."

"…"

"Have you heard anything about what Master Kang-Woo experienced in Hell, Seol-Ah?"

"N-No."

She shook her head.

With deep, sunken eyes, Lilith said, "He acts as if it does not bother him anymore, but… he has been hurt beyond your wildest beliefs."

"…"

"Fufu. Despite his cold manner of speaking, he is a very affectionate person. Do you know why the king had declared war on the princes of Hell?"

"No…"

"It was because of that massive ball of muscles over there."

"Mr. Balrog?"

Lilith nodded while making a bittersweet smile. "He made every single prince of Hell his enemy—all to save that ball of muscle. That is how warmhearted he is. So… he has likely been hurt a lot."

Lilith's last sentence carried an inexplicable amount of emotion.

Seol-Ah remained silent. She felt envious and was frustrated by the fact that Lilith knew a Kang-Woo she didn't know.

"Fufu. In that case, I hope you manage to succeed at least today." Lilith got up and waved.

Seol-Ah stood up while looking at her walk away.

'I don't… want to hesitate anymore.'

She realized she'd begun the race way later than Lilith.

Seol-Ah took a breath before turning around.

'I'll probably fail.'

After talking with Lilith, she realized how difficult it would be to capture Kang-Woo's heart.

'She's so beautiful and thinks about Kang-Woo so much, yet…'

If Lilith hadn't been able to capture Kang-Woo's heart, Seol-Ah didn't think she even had a chance.

But…

"I at least… want him to know my feelings."

Seol-Ah walked toward where Kang-Woo had escaped, her eyes shining. As she walked into the forest, she saw Kang-Woo taking a break and leaning against a tree.

"Kang-Woo."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Th-there's something I want to tell you."

Seol-Ah closed her eyes and felt her head spinning.

'H-how should I tell him?'

She'd received love confessions numerous times, but it was her first time making one.

'First…'

She reached out and gently grabbed Kang-Woo's hand.

"Hm?"

"I… I-I-I-I-I…"

Her eyes were spinning, and her head was jumbled.

'How should I use what Kang-Woo likes…?'

She just let her lips move by themselves.

"I-I want to make kimchi stew for you for the rest of my life."

'You idiooooot!!!'

She had proposed to him out of the blue.

No, it wasn't even a proposal—it was closer to a joke.

Seol-Ah wanted to scream in embarrassment.

'He'll think I'm a weird woman, right? He'll wonder what in the world I'm talking about, won't he?'

All sorts of negative thoughts swirled in her mind. Just as she was about to turn around and run away at full speed out of embarrassment…

"Sniff."

'Hm?'

"Waaaaahh. I'm… so fucking glad I was born. Waaaaah!" Kang-Woo was moved to tears and collapsed on the ground. "I'll make you happy for the rest of my life, darling."

"…"

Holding her hand, he looked up at her with sparkling eyes.

What Lilith had said to her the day before crossed Seol-Ah's mind.

"Winning the demon king's heart will not be easy. I have tried for a very long time, but… I failed."

'Huh?'

It had been a piece of cake.